Pet Vestibule

ABSTRACT

A pet vestibule configured for being attached to a door and to swing open with the door. Vestibule provides a protected shelter area for pets and animals to come and go into a structure without the need for human assistance, while also inhibiting rain, snow, and other inclement weather from entering the structure through the pet door.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/350,857, filed Nov. 14, 2016, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Prov. Pat. App. No. 62/273,714, filed Dec. 31, 2015, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure relates to animal management, and more particularly to avestibule or staging area for transitioning animals from outdoors toindoors.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many families want their household pets to live indoors with the family.This provides the animal with socialization opportunities, warmth,security, and clean food and water. However, many household pets stillhave a need to go outdoors, such as for play or elimination. The familycan either let the animal out and back in on demand, or install devicesthat allow the animal to come and go as it pleases.

Letting the animal out and in on demand has advantages, such ascontrolling when the animal comes back in, and thus providing anopportunity for reducing mud and other materials from being tracked infrom outdoors by cleaning the animal when it comes in. However, thefamily cannot let the animal out and in when not at home, and the animalmay need to go outside, such as for elimination, when nobody isavailable to let it out. Some families solve this through cratetraining, but not all animals tolerate crate training and not allfamilies are willing to crate their pets.

An alternative commonly used is a “pet door” or “doggy door,” which istypically a hole cut in an exterior door with a heavy flap covering it.The hole is large enough for the animal to pass through by nosing theflap aside and hopping through, but usually too small for a humanintruder. Pet doors allow the animal to come and go as it pleases, butalso have disadvantages, such as not being able to clean off the animalbefore it comes in. This is often addressed by having the doggy doorlead to a portion of the home's interior that is isolated from the restof the home, where the animal can run free but contain the mess.Examples include kennels built into garages and mud rooms.

However, another flaw with pet doors is that, during inclement weather,wind and rain can blow through the door. Since pet doors often lead toisolated areas of the home, this can cause water build up, and may chillthe animal or damage the interior of the home. What is needed is anapparatus that preserves the come-and-go flexibility of a doggy door butprovides a buffer between the interior and exterior environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. The sole purpose of this sectionis to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein, amongother things, is a pet vestibule configured for disposing adjacent to adoor, and having ingress/egress means disposed so as to inhibit exteriorelements from passing through the door.

A pet vestibule comprising: an open side configured to attach to aresidential house door having a pet door therein such that the perimeterof the open side is generally flush to the exterior door and theperimeter surrounds the pet door, a wall side opposing the open side andgenerally parallel thereto; a vestibule door side extending from theopen side to the wall side, the vestibule door side comprising a wallwith an opening therein configured to accommodate the passage of ananimal and forming a vestibule pet door; a second wall side opposing thedoor side and extending from the open side to the wall side; and a topside connected to the open side, the wall side, the door side, and thesecond wall side; wherein the open side, the wall side, the door side,the second wall side, and the top are attached in the configuration of aright trapezoidal prism.

In an embodiment, the top is translucent.

In another embodiment, the top is transparent.

In a further embodiment, when the vestibule is installed on aresidential door, the top side slopes downwardly away from theresidential door.

In a still further embodiment, the top extends outwardly from the doorside, the wall side, and second wall side.

In a still further embodiment, the top is hingedly attached to thevestibule.

In a still further embodiment, a flap is hingedly disposed in thevestibule pet door.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises a sealingmeans for inhibiting rain runoff from a door from entering thevestibule.

In a still further embodiment, the sealing means is selected from thegroup consisting of: a gasket and a door sweep.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises one ormore wheels attached to the vestibule.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises a bottomfloor side opposing the top side.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises aninterior electrical light.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises aninterior warming element.

In a still further embodiment, the vestibule further comprises one ormore height-adjustable leg assemblies.

Also described herein, among other things, is a pet vestibuleinstallation system for installing a temporary pet vestibule to theoutside of an exterior residential door having a pet door therein,comprising: a pet vestibule having an open side defined by a perimeterframe having a vestibule flange element attached thereto; a framemountable to the residential door and having a flange portion sized andshaped to accept the vestibule flange element; wherein when the petvestibule is installed on the residential door via the pet vestibuleinstallation system, the pet door is surrounded by the perimeter frame.

In an embodiment, the vestibule flange element is generally in theconfiguration of a U-shape, and the frame flange portion is generally inthe configuration of a U-shape.

In an embodiment, the frame is mountable to the residential door via oneor more holes in the frame configured to accept mounting hardware.

Also described herein, among other things, is a method for installing apet vestibule installation on a door comprising: providing a door havinga pet door therein; providing a pet vestibule having an open sidedefined by a perimeter frame having a vestibule flange element attachedthereto; providing a mounting frame having a flange portion sized andshaped to accept the vestibule flange element; affixing the mountingframe to the door to define a space between the flange portion and thedoor; inserting the vestibule flange element into the defined space.

In an embodiment, the vestibule flange element is generally in theconfiguration of a U-shape, and the mounting frame flange portion isgenerally in the configuration of a U-shape.

In an embodiment, the mounting frame is affixed to the door by affixingmounting hardware to the door through holes in the mounting frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a top perspective view of an embodiment of a petvestibule.

FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 depicts the alternate side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of a temporary mounting system for a petvestibule according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts an isometric view of an embodiment of a temporarymounting system for a pet vestibule according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 depicts a front elevation view of an embodiment of a temporarymounting system for a pet vestibule according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts a diagram of an embodiment of adjustable support legs fora pet vestibule according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts a diagram of an embodiment of adjustable support legs fora pet vestibule according to the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description and disclosure illustrates by way ofexample and not by way of limitation. This description will clearlyenable one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed systems andmethods, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations,alternatives and uses of the disclosed systems and methods. As variouschanges could be made in the above constructions without departing fromthe scope of the disclosures, it is intended that all matter containedin the description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of such a vestibule. In the depictedembodiment, a vestibule (101) is disposed adjacent to a conventionaldoor (103) for human passage to and from a structure. The depicted door(103) is an exterior door (103) but the device (101) described herein issuitable for use with interior doors as well. The door (103) includes apet door or “doggy door” (105) comprising a hole through the door (103)fully or partially covered by a movable flap. The flap typically isattached to the top of the hole and hangs down so that an animal mayeasily move it aside, and the pull of gravity will cause the flap tomove back to a resting position that generally covers the hole once theanimal has passed.

The depicted vestibule (101) generally is in the configuration of arectangular prism having a sloped top (113), forming a right trapezoidalprism in which the top (113) is the primary angle component and theother sides are generally orthogonal. See FIGS. 2 and 4. The slopeprovides for runoff of precipitation and is generally angled such thatwhen the vestibule (101) is disposed against a door (103), runoff isdirected away from the door (103). The depicted top (113) is made from aflexible transparent material, such as a transparent hard plastic. Thetransparency provides for natural lighting within the vestibule (101),which may help animals see when in the vestibule (101), reducingskittishness, and also allows for humans outside to quickly inspect theinterior of the vestibule (101) for the presence of an animal withouthaving to get down on hands and knees to peek inside. By using a hardplastic instead of glass, manufacturing cost is decreased and there isreduced risk of the top (113) shattering if the vestibule (101) is hit,such as by objects blown by the wind or thrown by a mower.

The depicted top (113) further comprises bumpers (115) on the corners,which soften edges to reduce injury to humans or animals, or damage toother objects, if the device (101) is struck. The top (113) may incertain embodiments be hingedly attached to the vestibule (101), or maybe removable therefrom, which aids in the ease of cleaning andreplacement. It is generally preferred that the connection between thetop (113) and the frame (121) of the vestibule (101) be airtight and/orwatertight, or nearly so, to further reduce intrusion of exteriorelements. Also, in the depicted embodiment, the top (113) is larger thanthe frame (121), causing a portion of the top (113) to overhang past theframe (121) on at least one side. In the depicted embodiment, thisoverhang (125) is on the lowest end of the top (113), causing runoffdrip on the ground, and not onto the frame (121). This also reducesleakage into the unit (101) from surface tension, which may cause liquidto cling to the underside of the top (113).

In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 1, the top (113) overhangs (125)primarily on one side, but in alternative embodiments, the top (113) mayoverhang on 2, 3, 4, or more sides, depending on the specific geometryof the vestibule (101). In the depicted embodiment, the top (113) ismade of Plexiglass®. It should be noted that while a transparent and/ortranslucent top (113) is depicted, the top (113) may be opaque in otherembodiments, and may be covered by further weatherproofing elements suchas shingles.

The main body (109) of the vestibule (101) is essentially a three-sidedbox (109) having a fourth, open side (107). The open side (107) isconfigured for being disposed against the door (103) such that the openside (107) partially or fully covers the pet door (105), allowing ananimal to pass through the pet door (105) and into the vestibule (101)or vice versa. The open side (107) may be partially closed, such as withframing elements, which are configured to cooperate with the pet door(105). For example, in the depicted embodiment of FIG. 1, the pet door(105) comprises a decorative frame (106), and the open side (107)comprises framing elements (108) disposed to surround the decorativeframing (106) of the pet door (105) when the door (103) is closed andthe vestibule (101) is disposed against the door (103). This creates atighter fit between the vestibule (101) and door (103), inhibitingexterior elements from entering the home through the pet door (105), andinhibiting exterior elements from entering the vestibule (101) in anygap between the door (103) and vestibule (101).

The other three sides (110) are generally enclosed, with one (112) ofthe three enclosed sides (110) having disposed thereon a vestibule petdoor (114). The depicted vestibule pet door is, like the pet door (105)in the conventional door (103), essentially a hole in the side of thevestibule (101) fully or partially covered by a movable flap. The flapis preferably attached at the top of the hole so that after the animalpasses, gravity will cause the flap to come to rest in a position fullyor mostly covering the hole. The side (112) on which the vestibule petdoor (114) is disposed is preferably not the side opposing the open end(107), but rather one of the sides (110) disposed orthogonally ordiagonally therefrom. The reason for this is that if the two pet doors(105) and (114) are disposed in a straight line, wind and rain can moreeasily penetrate the interior of the home through the vestibule (101).However, by disposing the vestibule pet door (114) off to the side, astraight line wind may push aside the flap and blow into the vestibule(101), and rain may enter, but both are less likely to be at the properangle to also penetrate the pet door (105) and get into the home.Preferably, the vestibule pet door (114) is also on a side of thevestibule (101) away from the direction of the prevailing winds(typically west-to-east), further reducing wind intrusion.

In the depicted embodiment, the top end of the open side (107) comprisesa sealing means (111), such as a rubber gasket or door sweep (111) whichmay be disposed on the device (101) so that when the door (103) isclosed, the sealing means (111) inhibits runoff from the door (103) fromflowing into the vestibule (101). For example, a door sweep (111) may bedisposed inverted to catch runoff and direct it to the top (113), whereit can then flow to the far, low end of the top (113) and drip onto theground. Other sealing means may also, or alternatively, be employed,such as foams or caulk. However, non-permanent sealants are preferred sothat the door (103) may continue to be operated to allow humaningress/egress.

Generally, the depicted vestibule (101) is not attached to the door(103). That is, the vestibule (101) is disposed snugly adjacent to thedoor (103), but not attached to the door (103), so that if the door(103) is opened, the vestibule (101) remains in place. This can be seenin FIG. 3. In effect, the door (103), when closed, comprises the fourthenclosed wall or side for the open end (107). This allows the door (103)to be used for human ingress/egress, as the human can step past, around,or over the vestibule (101). The dimensions and shape of the vestibule(101) may vary from a rectangular prism to accommodate structuresassociated with the door (103), such as the jambs and/or threshold.

In a further embodiment, the vestibule (101) may comprise lockablecasters, rollers or other movement means so that it (101) can be rolledaway from the door (103) to improve the ease of human ingress/egress,and then easily moved back into place. This also has the advantage ofelevating the bottom of the vestibule (101) off the surface so it (101)does not react with the surface, which may cause rotting, deterioration,and/or discoloration. In such an embodiment, the bottom ends of thesides (110) and/or (107) may also comprise a sealing means, such as adoor sweep, to inhibit water from entering the vestibule (101) from thegap caused by the casters or rollers.

The depicted vestibule (101) is constructed using a wood-framestructure, but other materials and construction techniques are possibleas well within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. For example, thetop (113) may be shingled and the sides may be sided to match theoverall exterior appearance of the home, making the vestibule (101)appear more attractive and “built-in.”

In a still further alternative embodiment the vestibule (101) may beattached to and supported by the door (103) such that when the door(103) opens, the vestibule (101) swings with it. In such an embodiment,the vestibule (101) is sized and shaped to pass through the door (103)opening through the angle. This generally comprises a right triangularconfiguration.

The vestibule (101) may further comprise other elements, such asinterior lighting, warming elements, and/or drying elements. Forexample, in the depicted embodiment, the vestibule (101) has an openbottom with no separate floor, meaning the animal steps into thevestibule (101) and its paws rest on the decking material or otherground material beneath the vestibule (101). However, in an alternativeembodiment, a separate vestibule (101) floor may be included, which maycomprise a material or texture for drying or cleaning animal paws, whichare known in the art. Such flooring material may be removable for easyreplacing or washing.

In many installations, it may be desirable to be able to quickly attachor remove the vestibule (101) from a door. For example, the vestibule(101) or door require repair, replacement, or cleaning, these tasks aregenerally simpler if the vestibule can be removed. FIGS. 5 and 6 depictan embodiment of a temporary installation system for a pet vestibule(101) according to the present disclosure. In the depicted embodimentsof FIGS. 5 and 6, the open side (107) of the pet vestibule (101) isattached to the door (103) using a tongue-in-groove system. A generallyU-shaped frame (501) is attached to the side of the door (103) to whichthe vestibule (101) is to be installed. This may be done using anyattaching technique known in the art. In the depicted embodiment, theframe (501) has a plurality of holes at various points through which ahardware fastener (503) may be inserted to hold the frame (501) againstthe door (103). Nails, screws, bolts, and other fasteners may be used.Generally, weather-resistant components are desirable, and theconnection may be further reinforced with weatherproofing, such as byuse of a silicone sealant.

The frame (501) is generally U-shaped, having two lateral arms (509A)and (509B), both generally linear elements, disposed vertically from,and generally perpendicularly to, a generally linear base (511). Each ofthe arms and base (509A), (509B) and (511) are comprised of an attachingportion (505) and a flange portion (507). The attaching portion (505) isdisposed to the outside of the flange portion (507), and contains theholes (503) used to attach the frame (501) to the door (103). Thus, theflange portion (507) forms an interior U-shaped structure slightlysmaller than the U-shape of the attaching portion (505). Whereas theattaching portion (505) is generally planar and attaches flush againstthe door (103), the flange portion (507) is configured to be disposed asmall distance away from the door (103), or to be bendable and flexibleso that the flange portion (507) can be bent away from the door (103) toallow a corresponding flange element (601) of the vestibule (101) to beinserted between the door (103) and flange portion (507), as describedelsewhere herein. The width w of the flange element (601) that can befitted into the U-frame (501) is generally defined by the lateraldistance between the outside edges of the flange portions (507) of thearms (509A) and (509B).

Generally, the U-shaped frame (501) is installed to surround the petdoor (105) on three sides, with the base (511) disposed below the petdoor (105) and the arms (509A) and (509B) extending upward on eitherside of the pet door (105). This is so that when the vestibule (101) isinstalled, as described elsewhere herein, the pet door (105) will leadto the interior of the vestibule (101). Thus, the dimensions of theU-frame (501) will depend on the size of the pet door (105). In anembodiment, the width w is twenty-four inches.

Correspondingly, the vestibule (101) may be configured with a flangeelement (601) configured and disposed on the vestibule (101) so as tointerconnect and interlock with the flange portion (507) of the U-frame.In FIG. 6, a logical diagram of the open side (107) of the vestibule isshown, with a U-shaped flange element (601) disposed on the lateralsides and bottom. This flange element (601) is sized and shaped so thatwhen the vestibule is attached to the door, the lateral sides of theU-shape flange element (601) slide between the flange portion (507) ofthe arms (509A) and (509B) and the bottom of the U-shaped flange element(601) slides into the flange portion (507) of the bottom (511) of theU-frame (501). Gravity then holds the vestibule (101) in place. Thewidth and thickness of the flange element (601) is generally designed tocoordinate with the configuration of the flange portion (507) of theU-frame (501). Thus, the lateral width w between the outside edges ofthe lateral arms of the U-shaped flange element (601) is about the sameas the lateral width w of the flange portion (507).

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill that the open side (107),though open to allow passage of an animal therethrough, still comprisesstructural and framing elements to which the flange element (601) can beattached.

In an embodiment, it may be desirable to provide additional support forthe vestibule (101) to reduce the stress on the door (103). Because thevestibule (101) is attached to the door and otherwise “floats” over theground, the strain of the vestibule's weight is carried by the door(103). To reduce this strain, which over a period of time could resultin door failure, legs and/or feet may be attached to the vestibule (101)to provide a distal point of ground support, reducing the force on thedoor (103).

FIGS. 7 and 8 depict an embodiment of such a leg/foot structure. In thedepicted embodiment of FIG. 7, the side (110) of the box (109) oppositethe open end (i.e., the side (110) disposed most distal from the pointof attachment to the door (103)) comprise a leg (703) assembly. Thedepicted leg (703) assembly comprises a sleeve (701) generally in theconfiguration of a hollow cube or rectangular prism, attached to thevestibule (101) so that the open sleeve (701) is disposed vertically tothe pull of gravity. A leg (703) is inserted through the sleeve (701).The depicted leg (703) is generally a rectangular post, sized and shapedto be snugly, but movably inserted into the sleeve (701). The leg (703)is preferably long enough to pass through the sleeve (701) and touch theground at one end, while also having at least some length of the leg(703) extending from the top of the sleeve (701) at the opposing end.This provides more stability and reduces stress and breakage.

The bottom of the depicted leg (703) terminates in a foot (705)component disposed between the leg (703) and ground. This foot (705)component is generally a low-friction component, as it will slide overthe decking, ground or other material outside the door (103) when thedoor (103) is opened. The depicted foot (705) has a rounded shape toreduce the amount of material of the foot (705) contacting theground/floor, and may be made of a soft or low-friction material. In thedepicted embodiment of FIG. 7, two such leg and sleeve assemblies areshown, but in an embodiment, the vestibule (101) may comprise one, two,three, or more such assemblies. The assembly may be attached to theinterior or exterior of the side (110), and may also, or alternatively,be attached to other sides (110) of the vestibule (101) in anembodiment.

FIG. 8 depicts an adjustable leg assembly. The depicted adjustable legassembly has generally the same components as that described withreference to FIG. 7, except that the sleeve (701) and leg (703) eachhave a series of vertically aligned holes (707). The holes (707) aredisposed on the sleeve (701) and leg (703) in coordinating positionssuch that a fastener (709) inserted through a hole in the sleeve (701)may also be inserted into a hole (707) in the leg. The height of the leg(707) can be adjusted by sliding the leg (707) to the desired height andinserting a fastener (709) through the aligned holes of the sleeve (701)and leg (707) to hold the leg in place. Any appropriate fastener may beused, but two exemplary fasteners (709) are depicted in FIG. 8, namely,a quick-release pin with a finger ring, and a cotter pin.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, this should not be taken as a limitation to allof the provided details. Modifications and variations of the describedembodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and other embodiments should be understood to beencompassed in the present disclosure as would be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art.

1. A pet vestibule installation system for installing a temporary petvestibule to the outside of an exterior residential door having a petdoor therein, comprising: a pet vestibule having an open side defined bya perimeter frame having a vestibule flange element attached thereto;and a frame mountable to said residential door and having a flangeportion sized and shaped to accept said vestibule flange element;wherein when said pet vestibule is installed on said residential doorvia said pet vestibule installation system, said pet door is surroundedby said perimeter frame.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein saidvestibule flange element is generally in the configuration of a U-shape,and said frame flange portion is generally in the configuration of aU-shape.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said frame is mountable tosaid residential door via one or more holes in said frame configured toaccept mounting hardware.
 4. A method for installing a pet vestibuleinstallation on a door comprising: providing a door having a pet doortherein; providing a pet vestibule having an open side defined by aperimeter frame having a vestibule flange element attached thereto;providing a mounting frame having a flange portion sized and shaped toaccept said vestibule flange element; and affixing said mounting frameto said door to define a space between said flange portion and saiddoor, inserting said vestibule flange element into said defined space.5. The method of claim 4, wherein said vestibule flange element isgenerally in the configuration of a U-shape, and said mounting frameflange portion is generally in the configuration of a U-shape.
 6. Themethod of claim 4, wherein said mounting frame is affixed to said doorby affixing mounting hardware to said door through holes in saidmounting frame.